1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates to an integrated positioning/ground proximity warning method and system, and more particularly to a low cost, lightweight and vision based miniaturized Integrated Collision Avoidance Enhanced GNC Micro-System for Smart Air Vehicles and to convert the invention successes into a commercial line of a “low-cost, small, lightweight GNC Micro-System for Aircraft Collision Avoidance.
2. Description of Related Arts
Current properly instrumented aircraft, operating individually or in teams with manned vehicles and unmanned vehicles, in the same airspace for a specific mission, are required to perform many missions. Safety of the aircraft is of paramount importance in all airspace environments. Avoiding collisions between aircraft and obstacles is a basic necessity for various operations. A real-time collision avoidance subsystem detects obstacles and provides warning messages to the pilot or controls the aircraft so that collisions with obstacles are avoided.
Adverse flight conditions make the autonomous avoidance of collisions a formidable problem for aircraft. First, collision avoidance for aircraft is associated with their sensors environment for detection of objects and for prediction of potential collision within their flight paths. Second, the collision avoidance should provide the aircraft with the capability of escaping from possible collisions. This means that an optimal escape trajectory is required for operational safety of the aircraft.
NASA is seeking advanced technologies to achieve smart, adaptive aerospace vehicles with intelligence. The innovative Integrated System is related to NASA's interests because based on vision it can become aware of potential collisions with terrain and obstacles and react rapidly to provide guidance for avoiding those disasters while maintaining the flight mission.